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Photograph by: Daniel Hayduk
, Special to The Province

Few people think of a senior citizen making supper as an Olympic event. But due to the effects of aging, many seniors have to perform at elite-athlete levels, straining at 80 to 100 per cent of their ability just to do simple household tasks.

All over the Okanagan, these would-be senior athletes are being studied, wearing wires and electrodes as they putter about the house or a lab as part of a University of B.C. research project into frailty and how muscles function as we age.

“This is why many older adults require home or assisted care, because these types of activities become too challenging, not because of chronic disease, but just lost physiological capacity,” explains UBC Okanagan assistant professor Gareth Jones of the Healthy Exercise and Aging Lab in the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention.

“But we can retrain that capacity. It’s not lost forever,” Jones added.

According to his research, the older you are, the faster your muscles tire, with fewer rests, leading to increased fatigue. Exercise can help, but 60 to 90 minutes of vigorous activity daily is what’s needed for seniors to remain independent. In other words, exercise is medicine for aging.

Research such as this in the fields of gerontology and geriatrics is a hot topic, with good reason. By 2026, one of every five Canadians will be over 65, according to the Canadian Institute of Health Research’s Institute on Aging. More than a million Canadians are over 80 years old, and that number is growing, according to the Canadian Geriatrics Society. In B.C., nearly one in seven residents is over 65, and in 20 years, that figure will more than double to one in four. As residents live longer — life expectancy in B.C. has risen from 60 in 1922 to 81 in 2007— they also want to know how to live better.

Experts advise that lifespans are mostly determined by simple genetics, nutrition and exercise. “We know that people are living longer. And lifespan is due to a combination of genetic and acquired factors that include environmental factors and illnesses and disease,” said Dr. Roger Wong, a clinical associate professor of geriatric medicine at UBC.

Wong says many researchers are looking for ways for seniors to squeeze the most out of their years, rather than trying to push human life expectancy to the limit.

“People are talking about the quality of life of seniors, of ‘active life expectancy,’ rather than just the numbers or on living to 95 years old. That active phase is growing in Canada,” said Wong, the president of the Canadian Geriatrics Society.

A new Canadian study hopes to unlock clues to help seniors thrive. In 2008, the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging was launched with the aim of following 50,000 citizens aged 45 to 85 for 20 years. More than 200 Canadian researchers will study the interaction of everything from subjects’ medical histories and blood samples to family relationships and social supports.

“It’s just amazing. It’s covering the A to Z of gerontology. It’s like a Webster’s dictionary on aging,” says Andrew Wister, chair of Simon Fraser University’s department of gerontology, who is heading one of three B.C. data-collection sites for the study.

Wister said studies show maintaining social contacts or retaining a sense of purpose is, with diet and exercise, a key to longevity.

“If you look at the characteristics of these people with longer lifespans, we find there is a strong sense of community and some kind of spiritual or family aspect that gives them a joie de vivre, that gives them something to live for,” he said.

One of the best ways to stay young is to keep learning.

“Keeping our minds as well as our bodies active is very important. Research has shown that if you watch TV, even watching documentaries that make you think can be helpful, as well as things like playing bridge or chess. It’s really all about ‘moving’ your mind,” said Neena Chappell, professor of sociology at the Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria.

“We have a genetic makeup that clearly affects our health, but it is also true that there are social determinants of health, so a lot of other things matter ... like social supports and self-esteem and having control over the decisions in your life,” said Chappell, who is also president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology.

Volunteering can provide an excellent source of mental stimulus and social connection. Many seniors understand this: According to Statistics Canada, more than a third of people over age 65 volunteered in 2004. Seniors groups also offer advice on ways to stay healthy.

The Council of Senior Citizens Organizations of B.C., for example, connects about 80 seniors groups and offers a dozen free healthy living seminars to seniors on topics from medication awareness and nutrition to dealing with stress.

“A lot of older seniors really have never had any formal education. We’re trying to give them information that they need in plain language,” said COSCO’s president, Sylvia MacLeay, 74.

Back in his UBC Okanagan lab, Jones sums up his prescription for health and longevity this way: “You have to keep challenging yourself.

“Look at the people who get the most out of life. They are the people who continually challenge themselves physically, mentally and socially. Then you get to enjoy aging to a much higher degree.”

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